And the Breadwinner Is…

Bambi Salvador, Vice Ganda, an ordinary Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who has spent 15 years in Taiwan, returns to the Philippines to surprise her family and celebrate her 44th birthday. However, she arrives to find her family home in disrepair and her mother, Momsie, unable to recall her due to Alzheimer’s disease. When her younger brother, Biboy, Jhong Hilario admits to mismanaging the remittances she sent and falling into debt, a disheartened Bambi leaves and stays with her close friend, Jovie, Lassy Marquez. After having a vision of her late father, Popshie, Joel Torre she resolves to keep her promise to support the family after his passing.

Back home, Bambi discovers the family has mistaken her for a ghost and held a wake in her honor. They explain that she was declared dead after being mistaken for a thief who stole her identification and was fatally struck by a bus, leaving them unrecognizable to the world. Learning of a life insurance policy from an agent named Tonton, they urge her to maintain the deception to claim the money. Although reluctant at first, Bambi agrees to the ruse only after learning that Biboy sold the house to a group of loan sharks led by Tope, who assault him, and that the family’s financial troubles are deeper than they thought. This turning point pushes Bambi to reconsider her initial stance and to rethink how she can truly help them.

Disguised as herself at the wake, Bambi attends the funeral farce while the real Baby, her estranged sister, returns to support the scheme. Baby, Eugene Domingo, reveals that after her husband died, she also fell into debt while working abroad in Italy and had been unable to send money home. With the family still reeling from the deception and the mounting financial pressure, they decide to revive Popshie’s bakery as a path to stability. Bambi discovers more about her siblings’ needs and ambitions: her younger brother Boy, Angie Castrence, is gay and deserves acceptance, while Biboy learns to bake under her guidance. Slowly, trust begins to rebuild as they work together to reopen the bakery, heal old wounds, and move toward a more hopeful future.

The youngest sibling, Buneng, Maris Racal, develops a crush on Tonton, who suspects insurance fraud and casts a wary eye on the family. During a visit to their home, Buneng unintentionally reveals Bambi’s friendship with Jovie, prompting Tonton to consult with Jovie, who indirectly confirms the fraud by showing that Bambi stayed with her on the day she was declared dead. Tonton returns to confront the Salvadors, and although he harbors feelings for Buneng, he must report the fraud because the insurance company is owned by his uncle. The revelation threatens to unravel the family’s fragile truce, forcing them to confront the consequences of a plan that began with a desire to protect one another and ended up exposing harder truths.

As tensions rise, Bambi chastises Biboy for reckless spending, and he and his wife Mayet, Gladys Reyes in the role, accuse her of harboring a grudge. Baby counters that Bambi has forgiven too easily, while Boy admits his fear of ending up alone without his sister’s steady support. The emotional weight of years of responsibility presses down on them, and Bambi vents about carrying the family for so long without rest, only to be met with resistance. Their arguments are interrupted when Momsy wanders off, prompting a desperate search that underscores how fragile their fragile harmony has become.

A poignant moment arrives when Bambi locates Momsy at a bus terminal, waiting for her daughter to return from Taiwan. Momsy briefly regains lucidity and recognizes Bambi, who reveals that she is dying of glioblastoma. Overcome with emotion, the siblings reconcile with her and commit to making her final days special—redecorating her bedroom to resemble her dream home and staying by her bedside as she nears the end of life. Bambi tells Biboy’s children that she will be taken by a pink airplane to heaven, and at her funeral, the sight of a pink aircraft in the sky becomes a symbolic tribute to her dream of guiding souls home.

In the mid-credits scene, the story circles back to a quieter resolution: Tonton ultimately decides not to pursue charges against the Salvadors and instead enters into a relationship with Buneng, joining the family for a celebratory photo together. The gathering emphasizes the central message of the film—that even through hardship, deception, illness, and financial strain, a family can choose forgiveness, solidarity, and renewal. The Salvadors’ bakery revival, inspired by Popshie’s legacy and Bambi’s unwavering resolve, stands as a testament to resilience, the healing power of shared effort, and the dream of a brighter future for everyone in that tightly knit clan.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:23